A2 FP1 : Industrialisation and 5YP Key facts and stats (Process, Impact, Success) Flashcards
What were some of the key reasons for industrialisation?
- To transform the USSR into a great industrial power through central planning and management of the economy.
- Proletarianisation of the Russian people
- Establishing a war economy
What was GOSPLAN?
Gosplan was the State Planning Agency, responsible for drawing up the plans and establishing output targets for every economic enterprise in accordance with party directives. It calculated figures which helped it to give priority to the use of resources, organised supply and distribution and took steps to ensure the necessary investment and recognition to balance the economy.
What were the problems with Gosplan?
- Suffered from a lack of reliable information and faced difficulty planning for many variable and changing commodities. Targets set were ambitious and local party leaders would argue with Gosplan about why their region should have priority on materials.
- Due to highly ambitious targets, corruption and fraudulent numbers were built into the system from the outset.
- Gosplan worked with falsified statistics and if anything went wrong their officials could and would be held responsible. This resulted in many of Gosplan’s own officials beinf dismissed for not being free of corruption.
When was the first Five-Year-Plan?
October 1928 to December 1932.
What was one-person management?
A sole director of industrial enterprise was in charge of and responsible for seeing that targets were achieved. The trade unions were told not to interfere and to docus on increasing worker productivity. Therefore workers’ control over the factory floor receded as the plans progressed.
Why did Stalin and the Vesenkha want to mainly invest in heavy industry?
They wanted the soviet union to be less reliant on the West for goods such as coal, iron and steel and could move towards ‘autarky’ / self sufficiency.
What is the russian word for the Supremem Economic Council?
Vesenkha.
What were the reprucussions of focusing on heavy industry?
Consumer industries producing clothes, shoes and similar products would be downgraded.
Why were plans always declared complete a year ahead of schedule?
To denote the superiority of Soviet Planning over the Western capitalist economies which were, at the time, suffering from the Great Depression. It was also a psychological device to encourage the workers to even greater achievements.
